Mercruiser 3.0 Starter Question

I have a 3.0 Mercruiser engine which was hard starting last year. Battery was brand new and it was very slow to crank. Replaced the battery cables and no change. If I get a torque reduction starter, will it crank faster? I'm at a loss here so any suggestions would be great.

I have a 3.0 Mercruiser engine which was hard starting last year. Battery was brand new and it was very slow to crank. Replaced the battery cables and no change. If I get a torque reduction starter, will it crank faster? I'm at a loss here so any suggestions would be great.

Usually the stock starters are more than enough. I'd get the starter rebuilt. 70-80 bucks and it will be better than new..

What size batt cable did you install? Battery size? and you did throw the wing nuts out and use stainless nuts and lock washers, right?

I have never heard of using stainless nuts and lockwashers to be honest with you. I use the wing nuts and tighten them tight by hand and then usually half of a turn with the plyers. I will be replacing the wings with nuts though. The battery size is a group 27 battery and I believe the wires are 8 gauge. Its my brothers boat and I just finished putting new stringers, bulkheads, floor, and bow seating. The glass work is winding down and I'm going over the problem list from last year. I remember cranking the motor last year and the solenoid was smoking and the motor was soooooooo slow to crank. Would a beat starter act like this? Once the motor was started it ran great. I'm not even sure its a marine starter. I will find that out when I remove it though. I just want it to be reliable once it gets handed over to him soon.

I would have to agree with Dunk, sounds like a starter issue. I have an old Prestolite I reused when I repowered my stbd engine(1998 3.0LX). When that Prestolite acts up, it seems to slow down too, it definitely can't hurt to have it rebuilt whether it's a prestolite or not. My port engine is a complete Mercruiser drop in, so it has a new high torque starter on it.

Before you go to far ,assuming that all voltages are correct and the starter is good with no voltage drops in the system, I would check and turn the motor over by hand feeling for tight spots. Very often internal issues, outdrive problems, gimbal bearings and other mechanical items can also cause cranking problems.

I have never heard of using stainless nuts and lockwashers to be honest with you. I use the wing nuts and tighten them tight by hand and then usually half of a turn with the plyers. I will be replacing the wings with nuts though. The battery size is a group 27 battery and I believe the wires are 8 gauge. Its my brothers boat and I just finished putting new stringers, bulkheads, floor, and bow seating. The glass work is winding down and I'm going over the problem list from last year. I remember cranking the motor last year and the solenoid was smoking and the motor was soooooooo slow to crank. Would a beat starter act like this? Once the motor was started it ran great. I'm not even sure its a marine starter. I will find that out when I remove it though. I just want it to be reliable once it gets handed over to him soon.

The starter would do that, but hopefully your mistaken about the 8 guage wire. Battery cables should be 2 guage for that engine. You could get away with 4 but 8 guage won't turn that engine over.